The bigger surprises of the 93rd Oscars was the show’s length, it’s unusual and often refreshing structure and order to the winners, and also that Glenn Close knows all about the song “Da Butt.” But there were some surprises and snubs throughout the awards winners as well.
SNUB: “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Though it was nominated for six Oscars, Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” went home empty handed at the Academy Awards. It wasn’t a frontrunner in all the categories, but Sorkin is a mainstay in the screenplay category and lost to “Promising Young Woman.” And “Sound of Metal” snagged the Film Editing Oscar despite “Chicago 7’s” smart blending of courtroom drama and protest action.
SNUB: Chadwick Boseman – Best Actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
After winning many of the Best Actor awards throughout the season and having the chance to become one of just three actors to ever win an Oscar posthumously, Chadwick Boseman lost to Anthony Hopkins for “The Father,” who won his second Oscar and became the oldest Best Actor winner ever.
SURPRISE: “The Father” – Best Adapted Screenplay
Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton won the second award of the night for the adaptation of Zeller’s own play “The Father,” giving us a surprise early. The film beat the screenplays for “Nomadland,” “One Night in Miami” and the nine credited writers on “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Maybe the real surprise is that Regina King managed to get through the reading of “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s” full title without tripping up.
SNUB: “Wolfwalkers” – Best Animated Film
Pixar’s “Soul” has won every precursor award throughout the season, and deservedly so, but the fable “Wolfwalkers” deserves some recognition for its lush animation that’s bursting with color, creativity and natural beauty in every frame.
SURPRISE: “Colette” – Best Documentary Short
This surprise was more of a birthday surprise, as “Colette” won its Oscar on the day that the film’ subject, Colette Marin-Catherine, turned 92. The film is about how Marin-Catherine, a resistance fighter who lived through the war in Nazi-occupied France, travels to Germany over 70 years after her brother was killed in a concentration camp.
SNUB: “Collective” – Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature
Alexander Nanau’s searing film about the corrupt Romanian healthcare system in the wake of a nightclub fire that killed dozens accomplished a historic feat of being nominated in both the Best International Feature category and the Best Documentary Feature category. But it lost in both, to “Another Round” and “My Octopus Teacher” respectively, even though our critic named it the best movie of 2020.
SURPRISE: H.E.R. – “Fight For You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah”
In a formidable field that included Leslie Odom Jr. and Diane Warren, H.E.R. now has the G and the O on her road to “EGOT,” winning for her song “Fight For You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
SNUB: Diane Warren for “Io Si (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead”
She’s now on a 12-time losing streak that stretches between five different decades. Please someone give her an Oscar. Soon.